NATION IN BRIEF

MIAMI -- A Cuban militant accused of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner will remain in U.S. immigration custody for the immediate future, but efforts to deport him to a country willing to accept him will continue, officials said.

Luis Posada Carriles was arrested in Miami in May after illegally entering the United States through Mexico. He is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso.

ICE issued a statement saying that Posada will not be released from its custody "at this time" and that further review is needed to determine where he could be sent.

A federal immigration judge ruled last fall that Posada could not be deported to Cuba or Venezuela, citing the possibility he could be tortured.

Posada's attorney in Miami, Eduardo Soto, said that the decision appears to be an attempt to keep Posada in custody indefinitely without just cause, and that he plans to ask a federal court to free his client.

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· GULFPORT, Miss. -- Two construction workers drowned during a demolition project at the hurricane-ravaged Grand Casino Gulfport, authorities said. The men were pumping water out of a portion of the casino barge that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina. Officials believe the two, working in water about six feet deep, became trapped in a tight space Tuesday. The Harrison County coroner's office identified the men as Tim Fitzgerald, 49, of Newport News and Miguel Hidalgo-Soberano, 48, of Cardenas Tabasco, Mexico.

· NEW YORK -- A bouncer with a long rap sheet has been charged with murder in the slaying of Imette St. Guillen, a graduate student who was raped, strangled and dumped last month in a desolate section of Brooklyn, a law enforcement official said. An announcement of a murder indictment against Darryl Littlejohn, 41, is expected Thursday, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the indictment was still sealed.

· MILWAUKEE -- Police walked shoulder to shoulder through wooded areas and dive teams searched the sewers in an escalating search for two young boys who disappeared while playing together Sunday. Purvis Parker, 11, and Quadrevion Henning, 12, do not have a history of running away, a police spokeswoman said.

· SAYRE, Pa. -- A dancer and drum maker who became infected with anthrax danced for reporters in a hospital auditorium, showing off his remarkable recovery from a rare and usually fatal form of the disease. Vado Diomande, 44, of New York City collapsed more than a month ago during a dance performance in Pennsylvania. Health officials believe he may have inhaled anthrax spores from the African animal hides he uses to make drums.

· NEW YORK -- He's one tourist city officials hope won't be coming back. A wily coyote paid a visit to the big city, leading dozens of police officers on foot and in a helicopter on a loping chase through Central Park before being captured. Officials said the tawny-colored animal, nicknamed Hal by park workers, was about a year old and weighed around 35 pounds. The animal will be taken to a wildlife center outside the city.